Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), 80, the longest-serving U.S. senator in the state’s history, announced on Wednesday that he won’t seek re-election next year.
“In my heart, I know it’s time to pass the torch,” Durbin wrote on social media.
Jewish groups were divided on the senior senator’s track record when it comes to Israel. Durbin was one of just 15 senators—all Democrats or Independents who caucus with the Democrats—who supported two resolutions that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) offered in April to cut off some military aid to Israel.
“It is fitting and emblematic of the dramatic far-left shift in today’s Democratic Party that one of Sen. Durbin’s last acts in elected office was to side with the Hamasniks and vote with crazy Bernie Sanders in support of an arms embargo against the Jewish state,” Sam Markstein, national political director and a spokesman for the Republican Jewish Coalition, told JNS. “Good riddance.”
Others told JNS that Durbin’s retirement will deprive the Jewish state of a strong advocate on Capitol Hill, albeit one that has gone his own way on occasion.
“He’s been a very good, loyal friend to us over the years,” Hollis Wein, executive director of the Joint Action Committee PAC, a pro-Israel group in Highland Park, Ill., told JNS. “He’s been a strong supporter. We know we can always count on him. He has always come through for us. He leaves behind a very strong legacy.”
Halie Soifer, chief executive of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, told JNS that Durbin “has been a staunch advocate for our values and strong partner of the Jewish community.”
“We are grateful for his decades of leadership in Congress,” Soifer said.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Jewish Democrat, stated that Durbin’s “legacy is defined not just by the legislation he passed, but by the undeniable positive impact his character and moral leadership has had on the nation.”
“He will leave some extraordinary shoes to fill—and has given us all an example of courage and righteousness for the work ahead,” Pritzker stated. “No doubt we will all celebrate him during his final 20 months in office.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who is Jewish, called Durbin “more than a colleague.
“He’s been a trusted partner, one of the most respected voices in the Senate for decades, my dear friend, and, of course, my former roommate,” Schumer stated. “His deep commitment to justice, his tireless advocacy for Americans in need and his wisdom in leadership have left an indelible mark on this institution, the United States and his beloved Illinois.”
“The Senate, and the country, are better because of his service,” he stated.
Three Democratic House members—Raja Krishnamoorthi, Robin Kelly, and Lauren Underwood—have been mentioned as potential successors to Durbin.
All three have received support from the Joint Action Committee PAC. Krishnamoorthi and Kelly have been backed by AIPAC’s political action committee and J Street PAC.
First elected to the Senate in 1997, Durbin is in his fifth term and currently serves as minority whip, the No. 2 lawmaker in the Senate Democratic caucus.
He was the 19th biggest Senate recipient of campaign contributions from the pro-Israel community from 1990 to 2024, taking in $1.1 million, according to the research group OpenSecrets. He has received backing from both AIPAC and J Street.
He was the first U.S. senator to call for a ceasefire following Hamas’s attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, though he said it should include a release of all of the Israeli hostages.
“The release of those who have been kidnapped should be part of this—immediate release,” Durbin said on CNN in November 2023. “Let’s face it. This has gone on for decades. Whatever the rationale from the beginning, it has now reached an intolerable level. We need to have a resolution in the Middle East that gives some promise for the future.”
Like many Democrats, Durbin has been critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “I will stand by Israel, but I will not stand and cheer its current prime minister,” he said the day before Netanyahu’s 2024 address to Congress.
“Israel’s execution of its war in Gaza under the direction of Prime Minister Netanyahu with 39,000 Palestinians dead and 90,000 injured is a brutal strategy beyond any acceptable level of self-defense,” Durbin stated at the time. “Netanyahu’s refusal to consider any peace plan that gives both Israelis and Palestinians a guarantee of security is inconsistent with a peaceful conclusion to this age-old conflict.”
On March 11, the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, led by ranking member Durbin, stated: “Free Mahmoud Khalil.”
“Let me get this right: Sen. Dick Durbin and the Judiciary Committee Democrats are fighting for a pro-Hamas foreigner, who has made life hell for Jews on campus?” wrote Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.). “Even for Dick Durbin, who voted to cut off military supplies to Israel, this is remarkable.”